On 7/15/2017 11:21 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
A number oftimes in the last couple of months I've noticed extremely dangerous riding by these newfangled electric scooter/bike riders. In our area these are NOT allowed on the park trails or multi-use paths yet many electric bike operators zoom along at quite a high speed compared to the average pedal powered bicycle rider. Add in the fact that these electric bikes are nearly silent and you have an increasingly hazaradous thing to try and avoid. what makes it really bad is that these things don't need to be licensed and it seems that most of the ones riding them have no idea what the rules of the road are for them and/or where they're allowedto ride them.

Be aware of these things lest one day they give you that run down feeling.

I wonder if eventually electric bikes and their rider will have to licensed?

I agree that these things are going to be yet another difficult
complication on our road systems.

The cycling industry is lobbying hard to get favorable legislation for
electric assist bikes. They seem to see this as a huge potential market,
and I think they're correct. (The upscale bike shop I visited
yesterday, in a big city, had the electric bikes on the prominent "right
inside the door" display.) These things will let lazy people look
athletic and "green" without sweating much.

But I can envision lots of low skill riders cranking along at about 20
mph, riding facing traffic, passing cyclists without warning, speeding
on MUPs, sliding out on turns, etc.

Of course, they'll also be a boon to experienced and competent cyclists
who are suffering the ravages of age. I have a couple friends like that
who are definitely interested.

We'll see how it works out. But I'm not entirely optimistic.


--
- Frank Krygowski